Principal, Partnerships

About the Position

We’re looking for an experienced, mission-driven professional to join our Partnerships team. This role is ideal for a strategic relationship builder who’s passionate about economic justice and energized by cultivating networks, designing programs, and collaborating across sectors. Reporting to the Senior Director, Partnerships, the Principal will play a key role in engaging and expanding the Ownership Works’ partner consortium, a core driver of the shared ownership movement. This role will also lead the execution of our strategy to leverage the networks and connections of our partners to increase adoption of shared ownership in industries that employ significant numbers of frontline and hourly employees, like retail, hospitality, and healthcare.

What This Role Offers

• Experience building the partnerships function in a nationally respected nonprofit scaling rapidly in the economic justice space.
• Direct access to top leaders in finance and business.
• Deep expertise in employee ownership and movement-building strategy.
• Opportunity to influence how America does business and make a difference in the lives of hundreds of thousands, and potentially millions, of low- and moderate-income employees.

Key Responsibilities

Partnership Strategy & Relationship Management

• Fuel partner engagement and retention by building trusted relationships and creating customized, creative annual account plans.
• Partner with the Advancement team to design and implement partner renewal strategies.
• Use Salesforce to track engagement and communications.
• Build new partnerships to advance the shared ownership movement in alignment with the organization’s goals and strategy.

Program Development & Delivery

• Become a subject matter expert on shared ownership; educate and inspire partners and stakeholders.
• Collaborate cross-functionally (Advancement, Marketing, Client Services, Finance) to develop and deliver high-impact programs, events, and content with our partners.
• Work with partners to identify and cultivate a pipeline of client opportunities in industries that employ significant numbers of frontline and hourly employees, like retail, hospitality, and healthcare.
• Lead partner onboarding and drive adoption of repeatable engagement models.
• Track metrics to evaluate program performance and partner satisfaction.

Events & Communications

• Produce high-value partner events, such as quarterly updates, webinars, leadership roundtables, appreciation events, etc., and manage event logistics, materials, and follow-up.
• Partner with Marketing team to create branded content and communications highlighting the impact of our partnerships.

Qualifications

Required

• B.A./B.S. degree.
• 7–10 years in partnerships, client services, or strategic relationship management.
• Passion for economic justice and the mission of Ownership Works; interest in becoming a subject matter expert in employee ownership.

Preferred

• Background in financial services, consulting, or nonprofits.
• Experience with Salesforce or CRM systems.

Experience & Competencies

• Relationship Building: Track record of building strong, trust-based relationships with external stakeholders and partners. Is proactive, positive, responsive, helpful, and professional when working with clients, partners, and internal stakeholders.  
• Events: Experience producing and managing high-quality virtual and in-person events and meetings.
• Operational Excellence: Produces high-quality, accurate work with care and attention to detail. Is diligent, prepared, and sets high standards for themselves and others.
• Project Management: Effectively plans, organizes, and drives work forward, ensuring deadlines are met and priorities are managed efficiently.
• Initiative: Identifies opportunities for growth, improvement, and innovation without prompting.
• Effective Communication: Communicates directly, clearly, concisely, and persuasively to drive alignment and impact.
• Receiving and Giving Feedback: Actively seeks and applies feedback and demonstrates an openness and commitment to continuous learning.
• Internal Collaboration: Builds strong relationships across teams. Works effectively in groups, values different viewpoints, and contributes to a culture of teamwork and inclusion.
• Problem Solving: Combines analytical and creative thinking to identify, evaluate, and address complex challenges. Leverages data and context to generate innovative, practical solutions while balancing risks, context, and long-term outcomes. Demonstrates adaptability and sound judgment in decision-making.
• Strategic Thinking: Anticipates future trends, identifies opportunities, and develops creative, long-term solutions that drive organizational success.

At Ownership Works, we are dedicated to building a diverse and inclusive workplace, so if you’re excited about this position but your experience doesn’t precisely align with every qualification, we encourage you to still apply. 
 

Equal Opportunity Employer

Ownership Works is an Equal Opportunity Employer.

Compensation

Compensation for this role is determined by several factors, including work location, individual skills, relevant experience, and business needs. For candidates based in New York City, the estimated salary range is $130,000-$155,000. Additionally, this role is eligible for a year-end bonus, contingent on individual performance, economic conditions, and board approval.

Benefits

We offer a comprehensive benefits package aligned with the professional services sector, which includes excellent health, vision, and dental coverage for you and your family, unlimited paid time off, a 401(k) plan with generous employer contributions, and 18 weeks of fully paid parental leave.

Location

O.W. is building a New York City-based team. The team works from our brand-new Midtown Manhattan office space two days per week.

About Ownership Works

Founded in 2021, Ownership Works (O.W.) is a fast-growing nonprofit organization with a mission to increase prosperity through shared ownership at work. O.W. helps companies and investors implement shared ownership programs that make every employee an owner and honor the collective effort behind a company’s success. At scale, employee ownership can help millions of workers build savings and wealth, often for the first time, at businesses that are more dynamic, resilient, and successful.

O.W. has set an ambitious goal of creating at least $20 billion of wealth for workers by 2030 and, over the long term, making broad-based employee ownership the new norm at work. To achieve these goals, O.W. has two areas of focus:

Movement Building. Through partnerships, network-building, education, data, and storytelling, O.W. is building a movement to increase the adoption of shared ownership by private and public companies. Over 90 private equity firms, financial institutions, foundations, labor advocates, and pension funds have joined the O.W. consortium as Founding Partners and made unprecedented commitments to advance the shared ownership movement.

Hands-on Guidance. In collaboration with its Founding Partners, O.W. helps public and private companies implement broad-based employee ownership programs that improve corporate cultures, increase employee engagement and satisfaction, and create an alignment of interests between employees and employers, all of which can support better outcomes for companies and workers. Since O.W.’s founding, over 145 companies have implemented shared ownership programs, reaching over 236,000 workers.
 

Ownership Works is certified as a Great Place to Work.

For more about O.W.’s programs and impact, visit https://ownershipworks.org.